U.S. patent number 11,266,122 [Application Number 17/325,132] was granted by the patent office on 2022-03-08 for pet immobilizer system.
The grantee listed for this patent is John M. Howard. Invention is credited to John M. Howard.
United States Patent |
11,266,122 |
Howard |
March 8, 2022 |
Pet immobilizer system
Abstract
A pet immobilizing system utilizes a vest to located a bladder
between a pet's legs. The bladder is rapidly inflated to hinder the
pet's movement or to immobilize the pet. A remote electronic device
sends a wireless signal to a wireless signal receiver coupled with
the pressure source to activate inflation of the bladder. A
pressure source may be canister or chemical inflation pressure
source that produces an inflation fluid from the reaction of two or
more chemicals, A vest may include a waist portion that extends
around the pet's waist. A bladder compartment may be configured in
the vest for retaining the bladder. A bladder compartment may have
an opening to direct the inflation of the bladder out between the
pet's legs. A remote electronic device may be a mobile phone that
operates an App with an activation button to initiate inflation of
the bladder.
Inventors: |
Howard; John M. (Arlington,
TX) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Howard; John M. |
Arlington |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family
ID: |
80473190 |
Appl.
No.: |
17/325,132 |
Filed: |
May 19, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
63132076 |
Dec 30, 2020 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A01K
15/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A01K
15/04 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;119/814-820,850-856,712-721 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Abbott-Lewis; Yvonne R
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Invention To Patent Services
Hobson; Alex
Parent Case Text
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisional
patent application No. 63/132,076, filed on Dec. 30, 2020.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A pet immobilizing system comprising: a) a vest configured to be
coupled to a pet, said vest comprising a waist portion configured
to extend around a waist of said pet; wherein said waist portion
comprises: a first waist extension; a second waist extension; and a
waist connector configured to detachably attach the first waist
extension and the second waist extension; b) a single bladder
coupled to the vest and configured on an underside of said pet's
waist and between back legs of the pet when said vest is donned on
said pet; c) a pressure source fluidly coupled to the bladder; d) a
wireless signal receiver; e) a valve configured between the
pressure source and the bladder; f) a controller coupled with the
valve and the wireless signal receiver; g) a remote electronic
device comprising: i) a user interface; and ii) a wireless signal
transmitter; wherein the wireless signal receiver receives a
wireless signal from the wireless signal transmitter to initiate a
flow of fluid from the pressure source to the bladder to inflate
the bladder; wherein the bladder is configured to inflate between
the pet's back legs to produce an inflated bladder having a size
that effectively immobilizes the pet.
2. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the vest
comprises a front extension that is configured to extend around a
neck of the pet.
3. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, where the front
extension comprises a first front portion and a second front
portion and a front connector configured to detachably attach the
first neck portion and the second neck portion.
4. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the pressure
source is a pressure canister.
5. The pet immobilizing system of claim 4, wherein the canister
detachably attachable to the vest.
6. The pet immobilizing system of claim 4, wherein the canister is
coupled to the bladder by a fluid conduit.
7. The pet immobilizing system of claim 6, wherein the canister is
configured proximal to a back of the pet.
8. The pet immobilizing system of claim 4, further comprising a
valve configured between the pressure canister and the bladder,
wherein the valve is opened to initiate a flow of gas from the
pressure canister to the bladder when the wireless signal receiver
receives a wireless signal from the wireless signal transmitter to
initiate said flow of fluid from the pressure source to the
bladder.
9. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the pressure
source is a chemical pressure source, wherein the flow of fluid is
a produced by a chemical reaction of two or more chemicals of the
chemical pressure source.
10. The pet immobilizing system of claim 9, further comprising an
activator that mixes the two or more chemicals.
11. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the remote
electronic device is a mobile phone.
12. The pet immobilizing system of claim 11, wherein the user
interface is a mobile App.
13. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the wireless
signal is a short-range wireless signal.
14. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the bladder is
configured in a bladder compartment.
15. The pet immobilizing system of claim 14, wherein the bladder
compartment is closed by a bladder compartment closure that
releases upon inflation of the bladder.
16. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the fluid is
air.
17. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein the bladder
coupled to the vest is configured to be located on an underside of
said pet's waist and between back legs of the pet and wherein the
bladder is configured to inflate between the pet's back legs to
immobilize the pet.
18. The pet immobilizing system of claim 1, wherein vest configured
to be coupled to a dog.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a pet immobilizer system that employs a
bladder configured between the pet's rear legs, whereby inflation
of the bladder effectively hampers the pet's movement.
Background
There are many circumstances where a pet owner may want to restrict
the movement of their pet. For example, a dog off leash in the yard
may start to dart into the road when an oncoming car is
approaching. In another example, a dog at a dog park may become
aggressive with another dog and it may be desired to quickly and
effectively restrict the dog's movement to deescalate the
situation. If the dogs are already fighting restricting the
movement may quickly end the incident.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a pet immobilizing system that
utilizes a vest to located a bladder between a pet's legs, such as
between the rear legs of a dog. The bladder may be coupled with the
vest and to a pressure source. A remote electronic device may send
a wireless signal to a wireless signal receiver coupled with the
pressure source to activate inflation of the bladder. A canister or
chemical inflation pressure source may then rapidly fill the
bladder to restrict movement of the pet.
An exemplary vest may be donned on the pet to locate the uninflated
bladder between the pet's legs, or proximal to a space between
their legs. A vest may comprise a waist portion that extends around
the pet's waist and may have a bladder compartment for receiving
and retaining the bladder. An exemplary waist portion of a vest may
have a first and second waist extensions that couple together via a
waist connector to enable quick donning and removal. A waist
connector may comprise a strap, buckle and/or hook and loop
fasteners to allow a proper fit and to allow quick coupling and
decoupling of the waist portion around the pet. An exemplary vest
comprises a front portion that extends around a neck of the pet. A
front portion may ensure proper location of the bladder with
respect to the pet. A front portion may have a first front portion
and a second front portion that are coupled together by a front
connector to form the front portion. As with the waist connector, a
front connector may comprise a strap, buckle and/or hook and loop
fastener for quick adjustment of the size and fit and for quick
donning and removal.
An exemplary pressure source may be a canister of container of
pressurized fluid, such as a gas. The gas may be air, carbon
dioxide and the like. The pressure source may be coupled to the
vest and the vest may have a pocket or straps to retain the
pressure source. A fluid conduit may extend from the pressure
source to the bladder, such as a hose or tubing. A pressure
canister may be configured proximal to the pet's back and the fluid
conduit may extend down to the bladder configured on the underbelly
of the pet, and preferably between the pet's back legs.
An exemplary vest may have a bladder compartment having a bladder
compartment closure that is released and opens when the bladder
inflates. A bladder compartment closure may be held closed by hook
and loop fastener, for example. The bladder compartment may retain
a portion of the bladder and may direct the inflated bladder to
expand between the pet's legs. An opening in the bladder
compartment may be on the back side, wherein inflation of the
bladder projects the bladder out back between the pet's legs.
An exemplary pressure source may be a chemical pressure source,
wherein reaction of chemicals produces a gas. For example, many
airbags have a chemical inflation system that reacts sodium azide
with potassium nitrate (KNO3) to produce nitrogen gas. The chemical
pressure source may have two or more chemicals separated and when
the activation wireless signal is received by the controller, the
chemicals may mix, such as by an activator that ruptures one or
more of the chemical enclosures. The chemicals may then mix and
release a burst of gas.
A bladder may be reusable bladder or a disposable bladder. A
bladder may be an elastic material that stretches upon inflation or
thin fabric that is folded or otherwise compressed and then simply
expands. An exemplary bladder may be a film of plastic, a coated
fabric or a composite material.
An exemplary bladder may be configured to effectively hinder and
restrict movement of a pet, such as a dog, and the bladder may be
sized for the size of the dog. Very small dogs may require a
bladder with an inflated volume of about 1,500 cc, or have a
diameter of about 14 cm, whereas a large dog may require a bladder
with a volume of about 8,000 cc or a diameter of about 25 cm. An
exemplary bladder may have a volume when effectively filled by the
pressure source of about 1,000 cc or more, about 4,000 cc or more,
about 6,000 cc or more, about 8,000 cc or more, about 10,000 cc or
more, about 14,000 cc or more any range between and including the
volumes provided. Likewise, an exemplary bladder may have a
diameter when effectively filled by the pressure source of about 15
cm or more about 20 cm or more about, about 25 cm or more, about 30
cm or more and any range between and including the diameter values
provided.
An exemplary remote electronic device may be a mobile phone and the
phone may run an App, or program, to enable a wireless signal to be
transmitted when desired. The controller may comprise a
microprocessor that recognizes the wireless signal and initiates
inflation of the bladder. The wireless signal may be a short-range
wireless signal, such as a Bluetooth signal, for example. A
short-range signal may have a range of 100 meters or more, about
150 meters or more, about 200 m or more and any range between and
including the ranges provided. Three classes of Bluetooth devices
have the following performance: Class 1, transmitting at 100 mW
with a range of 100 meters (328 feet); Class 2 transmitting at 2.5
mW with a range of 10 meters (33 feet); and Class 3 transmitting at
1 mW with a range of fewer than 10 meters. Class 1 may be preferred
for the pet immobilizer system.
Definitions
A pressure source, as used herein, is defined as a device that
provides rapid inflation of the bladder, wherein the bladder is
inflated to effectively hamper the pets, movement within about 3
seconds or less and preferably within 2 seconds or less and even
more preferably within 1 second or less.
The summary of the invention is provided as a general introduction
to some of the embodiments of the invention, and is not intended to
be limiting. Additional example embodiments including variations
and alternative configurations of the invention are provided
herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention, and together with the description serve to explain
the principles of the invention.
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a dog with an exemplary pet
immobilizer system coupled around their waist and extending around
their neck and a bladder coupled to a pressure canister to inflate
the bladder.
FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a dog shown in FIG. 1 with the
bladder now inflated to immobilize the dog.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a dog with an exemplary pet
immobilizer system coupled around their waist and extending around
their neck and chemical pressure source coupled with the bladder to
inflate the bladder.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a dog shown in FIG. 3 with the
bladder now inflated to immobilize the dog.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts
throughout the several views of the figures. The figures represent
an illustration of some of the embodiments of the present invention
and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention
in any manner. Further, the figures are not necessarily to scale,
some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular
components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details
disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely
as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to
variously employ the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
As used herein, the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes,"
"including," "has," "having" or any other variation thereof, are
intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a
process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of
elements is not necessarily limited to only those elements but may
include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such
process, method, article, or apparatus. Also, use of "a" or "an"
are employed to describe elements and components described herein.
This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of
the scope of the invention. This description should be read to
include one or at least one and the singular also includes the
plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are
described herein and are illustrated in the accompanying figures.
The embodiments described are only for purposes of illustrating the
present invention and should not be interpreted as limiting the
scope of the invention. Other embodiments of the invention, and
certain modifications, combinations and improvements of the
described embodiments, will occur to those skilled in the art and
all such alternate embodiments, combinations, modifications,
improvements are within the scope of the present invention.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary pet immobilizer system 10
is coupled to a dog 12, an example of a pet 11, via a vest 20 that
has a waist portion 40 extending around the dog's waist 16 and a
front portion 21 extending around the neck 15 or front of the dog.
The waist portion has two waist extensions 42 that extend around
the dog's waist and are coupled together by a waist connector 43.
The front portion 21 of the vest 20 has a first front portion 22
and second front portion 24 that are coupled together by a front
connector 23, such as a strap and buckle. Note that the front
portions and or waist extensions may be coupled together by hook
and loop fasteners, as described herein. The vest may be donned on
the dog with the first and second front extensions connected and
the waist extensions connected to provide a secure fit on the
dog.
A bladder 60 is configured in a bladder compartment 50 and located
on the underside of the waist 16 of the dog. The bladder
compartment may be closed by a bladder compartment closure 52 that
releases when the bladder is inflated by pressure source 70, such
as the pressure canister 72. A fluid conduit 76 extends from the
pressure source to the bladder to enable a rapid flow of fluid into
the bladder for inflation. A valve 82 may be controlled by a
controller 90 that receives a signal from a wireless signal
receiver 88 to initiate flow of the fluid to the bladder. As shown
in FIG. 2, a remote electronic device 94, such as a mobile phone,
may have a user interface 98, such as an App, with an activation
button 99, to initiate the inflation of the bladder. When a user
interfaces with the activation button, the remote device may send a
wireless signal 92 via a wireless signal transmitter 96 to the
wireless signal receiver 88. The controller 90 may then open the
valve 82 to inflate the bladder. A pressure regulator 80 may be
conjured to control the pressure of inflation of the bladder. As
shown in FIG. 2, the inflated bladder is configured between the
dog's back legs 18, 18'.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressure source 70 is a
chemical pressure source 78, made up of two or more chemicals 77,
that produces a burst of gas upon the reaction of two or more
chemicals. An activator 79 may be configured to initiate the
reaction of the two or more chemicals and may pierce one chemical
enclosure to enable the two or more chemicals to mix and react. As
shown in FIG. 4, a remote electronic device 94, such as a mobile
phone, may have a user interface 98, such as an App, with an
activation button 99, to initiate the inflation of the bladder.
When a user interfaces with the activation button, the remote
device may send a wireless signal 92 via a wireless signal
transmitter 96 to the wireless signal receiver 88. The controller
90 may then open the valve 82 to inflate the bladder. A pressure
regulator 80 may be configured to control the pressure of inflation
of the bladder. As shown in FIG. 4, the inflated bladder is
configured between the dog's back legs 18, 18'.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications, combinations and variations can be made in the
present invention without departing from the scope of the
invention. Specific embodiments, features and elements described
herein may be modified, and/or combined in any suitable manner.
Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the
modifications, combinations and variations of this invention
provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and
their equivalents.
* * * * *